Texas' Cadillac Ranch owner accused of sex abuse

New York Times

Updated 10:11 pm, Thursday, November 22, 2012

Photo: HENRY BARGAS, Associated Press

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In this 1997 photo, Stanley Marsh 3 watches as workers lower into place one of the 10 cars that make up the Cadillac Ranch display. An attorney for Marsh said police searched his client’s offices as part of a criminal probe.

In this 1997 photo, Stanley Marsh 3 watches as workers lower into place one of the 10 cars that make up the Cadillac Ranch display. An attorney for Marsh said police searched his client’s offices as part of a

Stanley Marsh 3 at a 30th anniversary party for his Cadillac Ranch, in Amarillo, Texas, June 21, 2004. Marsh, who has long been known as the town's eccentric millionaire, has been accused in lawsuit of sexually abusing teenage boys.

Stanley Marsh 3 at a 30th anniversary party for his Cadillac Ranch, in Amarillo, Texas, June 21, 2004. Marsh, who has long been known as the town's eccentric millionaire, has been accused in lawsuit of sexually

These vintage Cadillacs buried nose-down at Stanley Marsh 3’s Cadillac Ranch have become an Amarillo landmark. The eccentric 74-year-old is the only rancher in town whose windmill wears a bow tie and who has used his land and wealth as a kind of canvas for thought-provoking art.

These vintage Cadillacs buried nose-down at Stanley Marsh 3’s Cadillac Ranch have become an Amarillo landmark. The eccentric 74-year-old is the only rancher in town whose windmill wears a bow tie and who has

Texas Panhandle residents may have heard the clap of thunder early Wednesday morning, Aug. 13, 2008, as several rainstorms rolled across the high plains outside Amarillo. Lightning illuminated the night sky and the partially buried cars at the Cadillac Ranch.

Texas Panhandle residents may have heard the clap of thunder early Wednesday morning, Aug. 13, 2008, as several rainstorms rolled across the high plains outside Amarillo. Lightning illuminated the night sky and

Rick Quattlebaum, helps his son Kyzer Quattlebaum, 7, write his name on one of the Cadillacs at the Cadillac Ranch Tuesday May 22, in Amarillo. The Quattlebaum are from Jacksonville, Ark., are traveling to Las Vegas.

Rick Quattlebaum, helps his son Kyzer Quattlebaum, 7, write his name on one of the Cadillacs at the Cadillac Ranch Tuesday May 22, in Amarillo. The Quattlebaum are from Jacksonville, Ark., are traveling to Las

Stanley Marsh 3 spray paints the newly white washed Cadillac in celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the Cadillac Ranch, near Amarillo, Monday, June 21, 2004. Visitors were given spray paint to graffiti the ten Cadillacs partially buried in the ground at an angle.

Stanley Marsh 3 spray paints the newly white washed Cadillac in celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the Cadillac Ranch, near Amarillo, Monday, June 21, 2004. Visitors were given spray paint to graffiti the

Donald Benton, left, photographs members of his family during a stop at the Cadillac Ranch just west of Amarillo, June 18, 2002.

Donald Benton, left, photographs members of his family during a stop at the Cadillac Ranch just west of Amarillo, June 18, 2002.

Photo: HENRY BARGAS, AP

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Roberto Pizzetti takes in the sight of the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, along Route 66.

Roberto Pizzetti takes in the sight of the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, along Route 66.

Photo: RANDY ELI GROTHE, KRT

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Texas' Cadillac Ranch owner accused of sex abuse

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AMARILLO — For years, it's been hard to tell what has fascinated and shocked residents of this conservative Panhandle city more: the 10 vintage Cadillacs buried nose-down in a wheat field off Interstate 40 or the project's landlord and patron, Stanley Marsh 3.

Marsh — who prefers to use “3” instead of “III,” because he finds the Roman numerals too pretentious — doesn't mind the stream of tourists who deface the Cadillac Ranch with graffiti scribblings.

At an event to mark its 30th anniversary in 2004, the man known as the P.T. Barnum of Amarillo spray-painted one of the tail-finned relics himself.

At 74, he's the only rancher in town whose windmill wears a bow tie and who has used his land and wealth as a kind of canvas for thought-provoking art.

At his offices in Amarillo's tallest building, the Chase Tower, there were no buried cars, but a visiting reporter once noted the sign by the elevator doors: “The People's Republic of the 12th Floor.”

Now, Marsh — and his 12th-floor headquarters — have become embroiled in legal turmoil in which he's accused of behavior far beyond his well-known eccentricities.

Eight teenage boys have sued him in recent weeks, alleging in a series of lawsuits that he supplied them with cash, cars and alcohol in return for sexual favors and performances at his office and at his home.

The lawsuits claimed the boys, identified in court documents as John Does, were 15, 16 and 17 at the time.

The suits accuse Marsh of being a “serial abuser” of boys and young men, allegations that Marsh's lawyer said he planned on fighting in court.

Papers filed in the lawsuits allege that those close to Marsh, including his wife, Wendy Marsh, and business associate, David Weir, were aware of the abuse and at times facilitated it.

Weir, the lawsuits claim, required the teenagers to sign a document that waived any liability for Stanley Marsh while they were his employees or guests.

Weir, Wendy Marsh and the Marshes' adopted son, Stanley Marsh IV, also were named in the suits, as well as the company that manages the Chase Tower and the firm that handles building security.

The boys are charging sexual assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress, suing Stanley Marsh 3 for unspecified monetary damages, and the other defendants are being sued for negligence, among other allegations.

The Amarillo police have begun a criminal investigation, and the district attorney in Lubbock County has been appointed a special prosecutor.

Police detectives served a search warrant at Marsh's offices and removed a number of items, and Anthony Buzbee, the Houston lawyer who filed the lawsuits, said that so far, six teenagers had been interviewed by detectives.

The lawyer representing Marsh, Kelly Utsinger, said his client is cooperating with police.

“Any suggestions about the truth of these allegations needs to be reserved until the evidence is fully developed,” said Utsinger, who also represents Wendy Marsh, Weir and Stanley Marsh IV. “We will file responsive pleadings that challenge and deny these allegations.”

Longtime friends and associates said they believed the accusations were false and continue to support Marsh, whose wife was named his guardian last year after he suffered a series of strokes.

Acquaintances involved in local politics and education as well as the legal and business community noted that no charges have been filed and that he was innocent until proven guilty.

They said they weren't worried about the scandal hurting either the city's image or the popularity of the Cadillac Ranch, an attraction that inspired a Bruce Springsteen song in the 1980s and helped make Amarillo a household name.

“Stanley is an unusual person,” said Dick DeGuerin, a Houston lawyer who represented Marsh in the 1990s. “He's brilliant, highly educated, very intelligent. But he sticks out in a place like Amarillo, a place where people who are unusual are frowned upon.

“Because he's unusual, some people get the wrong idea about him. Stanley is a generous, fine, honest person, and I will not believe these allegations against him.”

But the lawsuits aren't the first time Marsh's relationships and conduct with teenagers and young men has gotten him in trouble.

Marsh often hired youths with artistic streaks, particularly to assist him with creating and installing his mock traffic signs.

Nearly 17 years ago, he was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and aggravated assault after he was accused of threatening a high school student with a hammer and locking him in a chicken coop. The young man, 18 at the time, had stolen one of Marsh's street signs, and he was a member of the Whittenburg family, with whom the Marsh family has had a long-running feud.

Marsh pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of unlawful restraint and criminal trespass, paid a $4,000 fine and served community service.

The assault and kidnapping charges were dismissed. Lawsuits stemming from that episode and others in 1994 were settled and Marsh issued an apology.

In another case, Marsh was arrested on a charge of indecency with a child through sexual contact in March 1996.

The charges alleged that on three occasions in 1995, he touched the genitals of a 16-year-old. The boy and his father later signed affidavits stating they didn't want to press charges. The father declined to comment for this article.

The charges in that case were dismissed in 1998 as part of a plea agreement that also involved the chicken-coop case.

Another lawsuit filed in 2004 accused Marsh of inviting an 18-year-old to lunch at his office and then sexually assaulting him. The allegations were denied in court by Marsh's lawyer, and the suit later was dismissed by the plaintiff.

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